When viewing video content on a standard definition (SD) television set, a viewer may observe a visual artifact known as flicker. The flicker may be easily noticeable when the video incorporates graphics, for example. This flicker may be more easily noticed when the viewer views within a certain distance of the television set. In certain cases, the flicker may be more discernible when the intensity of the television set is increased or when the background room lighting is decreased.
When viewing television broadcasts, 480 scan lines are displayed by way of two alternating 240 line fields. The two alternating 240 line fields are interlaced to display a 480 line picture. This interlaced scanning process has provided acceptable viewing quality for viewing typical television broadcasts. However, as high resolution video content is increasingly incorporated into the television broadcasts, a viewer may detect flicker as a result of the interlaced scanning process. This occurs because of the highly defined and detailed picture quality that is characteristic of certain graphics images. Unfortunately, the presence of flicker when viewing such graphics images creates an undesirable annoyance to any viewer.
The limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.